1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to telecommunication networks, and more specifically, to provide trending analysis of a telecommunications network by monitoring network performance and topology information that spans days, weeks and months.
2. Related Art
A typical telecommunication network comprises multiple telecommunication switches located throughout a geographical area. When a customer makes a call, the call may be routed through one or more switches before reaching its destination. It is imperative that the network operate reliably and efficiently to ensure high quality network services and customer satisfaction.
The monitoring and maintenance of a telecommunications network is compounded by the fact that the number of network customers is continually increasing. Current network customers are using the network in new ways including access to Internet and the Wide World Web. Additionally, networks are continually expanding into new areas to reach new customers. Therefore, the volume of data transmitted over a telecommunications network is continually increasing along with the number of required monitoring points. A monitoring point is a location in the telecommunications network at which the network is being checked in terms of transmission errors, workload, and other performance statistics. As an example of the magnitude of this problem, there were over two (2) million monitoring points in the MCI telecommunications network at the end of 1995.
When monitoring a telecommunications network's performance, the network must be considered in its entirety. It is not sufficient to monitor a network in terms of individual segments because each segment of a network impacts the others. Therefore, monitoring network performance must include identifying trend analysis and root causes.
There are certain network conditions that can only be identified by trending analysis. For example, a bad Digital Cross Connect (DXC) 3/3 card may not be causing a problem that would show up on a real-time monitoring system. The bad card, however, would show up using long term trending analysis. Monitoring the trend of network performance over time identifies systemic problems in a particular manufacturer's product or indicates procedural problems in operating the network.
Contemporary network management systems do not provide complete or adequate network performance information. Typically, a management system provides a few report formats that contain limited performance information. The management system cannot provide trending analysis of network performance information that spans days, weeks and months. Additionally, contemporary systems do not combine network performance information with topology information. Therefore, network operators cannot correlate network performance with the placement of specific network devices.
The problem with contemporary network management systems is further evident when assisting in the testing of a customer's circuits prior to "turn-up." Turn-up occurs when a circuit has been provisional and has "live" data traffic. Without the availability of trending analysis, the testing of circuits is a manual intensive process. A system operator must monitor each circuit for several days. This procedure requires the operator to enter several circuit identifiers (as many as one hundred) each day for each circuit being monitored. After the monitoring is complete, the operator determines from the generated reports whether the circuit is ready to be "turned-up" for the customer.
Contemporary network management systems also collect and store performance data in a custom, internal format. That is, the systems do not store network information in an easily accessible standard format. By using a custom, internal format, the systems require custom application programs to be written to retrieve the performance data and present it in a meaningful format.
Therefore, there is a need for a telecommunications network monitoring system that provides both trending analysis and routine analysis. The monitoring system must support near-real-time, next day, and week-to-week analysis. Furthermore, both network performance and topology information must be incorporated into the same monitoring system. Therefore, the network performance information can be correlated with the topology information.
There is a further need for a telecommunications network monitoring system that provides an open and reliable collection point for network performance and topology information. Circuit availability and the percentage of error-free seconds can be monitored, thereby fulfilling tariff obligations and predicting problems prior to tariff impact.
There is still a further need for a telecommunications network monitoring system to provide a convenient and flexible means for the storage and retrieval of network performance and topology information. Easy and rapid access to such information assists network operators in monitoring the network in its entirety, as well as, in monitoring any specific monitoring point.